BEFORE I FORGET...

John Dollinger is a VERY petty person. Perhaps a martinet who makes up the rules is a better term. He seems to delight in ordering us around for nonsensical reasons. Some examples -

- The server was down, we were logged in and John refused to let us go outside for a cigarette. We had to wait the full 2 hours to the 1st break. A year or so later, this wasn't an issue and we could go outside.

- The server drastically slowed down about 35 minutes before the end of the shift and John told us to begin logging out. It took about 5 minutes for each command to be processed and we weren't going to make any more calls, so I plugged in my earbuds and began listening to Matt Drudge. John told me to stop listening to the radio.

- I came in with my winter coat and put it on the edge of the work station area rather than the back of my chair or the floor. John told me I couldn't do that.

- Before the shift started, Jefferey was sitting on the floor talking to Carmen and someone else. John passed by and told him he couldn't block the aisle.

- A few weeks after almost all of us had our hours messed up on our paychecks, John got on the PA and went on a rant. What I remember most clearly was his statement that he didn't have to do anything to help us straighten out our paychecks.

- One Sunday, we came in and the poll wasn't ready. I asked Nancy if we would be paid for the time we were waiting around and she said she didn't know. I asked if if she could ask Birmingham when she next talked to them and she said that Barbara wouldn't know either. A couple of days later, John came by my work station and warned me never to ask about whether we are getting paid or not. He also said the same thing to Naomi, who was only slightly involved.

- I was outside on break and talking with Robin. Joking around, I mentioned to her that cell phones were made for chicks because they like to talk so much. John said something about that and both Robin & I were puzzled about why he objected to what I said.

- Nancy came over to tell me it was break time and we engaged in a little friendly banter. I said something like "Well, I guess I'll have to hack into the servers at Birmingham." After I got back from my break, John took me to his office and said that I had made a threat. I told him that I was just joking around but he seemed serious.